SatNav Design and Usability

[Darren]

Recent murmerings by Senior Police officers that Satnav's may be the next focus of legislative attention got me thinking about the whole form and function issue. GPS has been around long enough now for their designs and interface to benefit from some serious consideration. PND's ought to have been designed with safety and usability paramount yet the vast majority are still little more than slightly tweaked PDA units with little given to how they are actually used in real life!

Simple things like the power socket located on the bottom of a device. The resulting power cable prevents you from locating the unit such that it rests on the dashboard. Why not place it on the side or rear or use a low profile right angled plug? Or Power LED's that cannot be seen from the front so you don't actually realise it wasn't charging until the battery expires! Power switches that are similarly placed with tiny little buttons that you can't locate! Oh and a reset switch that is so small you need a pin, of course we all keep them in our cars don't we!

The user interfaces are another area that appear to be given little thought in many cases. I have recently been testing a unit that has a large screen, great though that is, why do they have to have all the time to destination, distance and speed information in text so small that it cannot be easily and quickly read? And still we see devices launched with tiny speakers that cannot be clearly heard when driving!

So let us know what annoys you most and what (realistic) changes you'd like to see to improve them?
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Darren Griffin

[davewhit]

Hi yes i think my main shout about sat navs and people are going to think this strange is the postioning on the windscreen. Now in the day your view is a lot clearer due to daylight but once night comes trying to postion the sat nav where one, its not obstructing your view and two, its not easy for robbers to grab if you are stopped at traffic lights is my main quibble.

I think sat navs should come with dashboard mounts as well as windscreen mounts. I even tried to stick the windscreen mount behind my steering wheel on the speed and rev counter plastic which was great as my sat nav gives you speed and it was right in front of you below windscreen level, hard to grab as the steering wheel was in the way but then it didnt stay stuck long as it was only mounted on plastic and not glass and after an hour or two it just fell of the plastic.

Oh well maybe its just me having bad eyes i found the mounting on the windscreen a big obstruction at night but others might not

Dave

[Privateer]

OEM SatNav units

I would love to see the SatNav units that either come as standard or as an optional extra with a vehicle to be able to:

Accept user custom POIs of a standard type (.OV2, .CSV, etc) and use .BMP files to show POI icons on screen.

Use .ogg files for POI proximity alert warnings.

Accept reusable storage media (SD card, CF card, USB stick, etc) where user custom data (POIs, .BMP files, .off files, etc) can be stored.

Regards,
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Robert.
iPhone 6s Plus, iOS 14.0.1: iOS CamerAlert v2.0.7
TomTom GO Mobile iOS 2.3.1; TomTom (UK & ROI and Europe) iOS apps v1.29
Garmin Camper 770 LMT-D

[robertn]

Sorry if this is too long winded. This is a big issue and is overdue for some serious discussion

The concern from the manufacturers is unit sales and $$$. I am not aware of one unit that has undergond rigourous safety audit and testing. I am saying that none have, just it is not publised if it is done. There is research being done, but it is poorly funded and in early stages of getting some surprising results. I am sure a law suit in the US will change this one day, hopefully sooner. The legal disclaimers we all accept can only protect negligence by the manufacturers to a point.

My main concerns are:
Windsheild mount in an accident. I doubt it would pass any NCAP safety test (And would dearly love to see a video of one). Not only will the suction cup break loose leaving a 1lb object flying around the inside of the car, if it misses you on the first fly by, the curly cable power lead will act like a spring and give it a second chance to embed itself in your brain.

Windsheild mount again:
A number of times my mount has parted company from the windsheild. I am trained (no matter what happens, fly the plane first) to concentrate on driving, so am able to ignore it.

Using (as in pushing buttons etc) the device while driving - like cellphones, I do it even though I shouldn't. I know it's naughty but..... The mechanical load is very high. The cognitive load extreme. Very unsafe - I must be an idiot, can someone please tell me why I do it?

Guidence and Voice Instructions.
They take a long time (2-5 seconds), and require moderate cognitive loading. Unfortunately driving a car is something that cannot be safely interrupted. The driver should choose when it's safe to be distracted form the primary task of driving. The voice instructions come at any time that suits the device, not the driver. They usually come at times when driver cognitive load for driving is highest - approaching intersections etc. Also on most systems it is vital not to miss ANY of the guidence instruction or it will not be understood. What happens is in reality is the driver instantly stops driving and starts listening when the PND speaker sparks to life -not safe.

The better option (IMHO) is a clearly laid out and visible screen. Like the rear vision mirror, it takes an instant to glance at it, and is done at a time that the driver chooses. The cognitive load is very high, but for a much shorter duration then a voice instruction, and at a time that suits the driver. Therefore the safety impact of viewing the screen is much less than voice guidence (I look forward to the robust discussion this statment should generate) - heres the catch - the windsheild mount (that is so unsafe) is the best place for the PND for safety on this point.

On the plus side, there is little doubt that a PND used by a driver who does not know the area and does not know where he is going is safer than reading a map while driving. It also also a huge safety advantage when a driver knows that the PND will guide him if he takes a wrong turn and is unfamiliar with the area. It avoids the dangerous driving people sometimes make when they don't want to take the wrong way and get lost.

In summary - PND have pros and cons. the best thing with todays technology is put it in the glove box unless you need it. When using it, remember what pilots are taught to do - no matter what happens, fly the plane first.

[Darren]

All valid points, I would love to see a device that used a HUD type display although I understand the technical difficulties of an after market solution in this regard.

I would be very interested in the liability issue were a Satnav to blamed for injury in an accident but there are so many things in-car now that perhaps it could be argues that cup holders near the driver are also liable to cause injury were hot coffee to be spilt over a driver. Indeed such an event may be the cause of a more serious accident with a driver distracted by scalding coffee!
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Darren Griffin

[Philip]

All the discussion so far seems to centre on the hardware side of usability.

I believe that the software on many units also needs significant reworking. My wife and I use or have used over half a dozen units on a regular basis (both built into our cars and mobile units) from Garmin, BMW, TomTom, Clarion and others. They each announce the same manoeuvre in very different ways - for example:
1) "Enter roundabout, then take the second exit".
2) "Take the second exit at the roundabout".
3) "Go straight across at the roundabout".

Now I personally find (3) the most intuitive - it's what I would say if I was directing the driver. My wife finds (1) really irritating - there's the superfluous 5 syllables of "Enter roundabout" before you are told where you will be going (and consequently which lane you need to be in when approaching the roundabout).

Notwithstanding the previous comments about cognitive overload, I personally am happier listening to directions and keeping my eyes on the road rather than looking at the map (obviously this is a major oversimplification - the driver's workload depends on many variables, including traffic density, speed, complexity of road layout, driver's stress level, etc, etc).
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Philip

[GJF]

Darren wrote:

[MaFt]

"Oh and a reset switch that is so small you need a pin, of course we all keep them in our cars don't we!"

erm... yes, actually!! my hard-drive mp3 player has a habit of crashing when i'm out and about so i've taken to carrying a little plastic/metal wrapping thing (like what gets fastened around new leads etc) with the plastic pulled back exposing the metal. it lives in my wallet ;)

also, the Fujitsu Loox i'm in the process of reviewing has a nifty stylus - the end unscrews to give you a 'reset tool'

MaFt

[alix776]

you souldnt need to unsrcew the stylus you should be able to use just the stylus
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currently using aponia truck navigation on windows phone. Good bye IOS don't let the door hit you on the way out .

Oh the joys of being a courier.
device Lumia 950 xl

[culzean]

I mount my Garmin C510 satnav on the drivers side window of my car, it has voice prompts for most things and it takes no more effort to look at the screen than glancing in the door mirror. Sure you have to take it off if you want to wind the window down, but it is a lot less distracting than putting it on the dash or windscreen. The police should not badmouth satnav, as it reduces driver frustration at our terrible road signs and the need to balance a map on the steering wheel, and as such improves safety no end. What the police really object to is the fact that satnav drastically reduces the amount of money their speed cameras collect - well if they really are 'safety cameras' and not revenue collectors what's their problem if people don't speed where 'safety cameras' are positioned?

[Darren]

[Mullet]

deleted

[reader]

I cannot I understand why anybody would want to place their sat nav on the drivers window! Mine is placed on the drivers side of the windscreen just above the dashboard and by the 'A' pillar. this means that it as easy to look at as looking at the 'outside' driver's mirror. the cable for the power just come across the top of the steering wheel binacle and tucks neatly down behind the casing!

I have seen some postioned directly in front of the driver on the windscreen in the line of vision yes, really.

As regards the reset, the stylus on the Navman does this without unsrewing the top.

[Darren]

Yup, I see plenty installed either slap bang in the middle a few inches below the mirror or directly in front of the driver above the instrument panel! The latter would have got them a pull if I was on duty, a clear case of driving without due care!
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Darren Griffin

[Privateer]

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